Yeah, the title makes me sound like a total stooge, but hear me out.

Jenn got this book several weeks back in an effort to get us to work out some and look better by the time the wedding rolls around in October. Neither of us really did a whole lot of exercise before this, and while the book is primarily a weightlifting sort of workout, something is better than nothing.

The thing is, though, working out sucks. We work out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so I’m thinking right now about how I’m going to have to go home after work and work out, and I’m dreading it. I can make up 1001 reasons not to work out, and even though I know I should work out, it doesn’t mean I want to.

Working out is boring. I’ve never found exercise that I enjoy doing that I can really do on a regular basis. I sort of like swimming, but I don’t have a pool and having to go to the gym isn’t really something convenient or conducive to me exercising. I sort of like biking, but the weather around Oregon is sort of prohibitive to getting outside on a regular basis (it’s reasonably unpredictable). I sort of like skating, but that’s not really much of a workout and, again, the weather sort of screws you. Even if I could do one of those things, doing the same thing all the time gets old, so it would only stave off the boredom for a short amount of time. I need variety and I need it to be fun.

It only wears me out. I hear folks who work out talk about the “second wind” they get, or the energy they somehow magically come across when they work out. Never once in my life have I experienced any of that. I’ve done my share of running (can’t do much - got flat feet and, no, orthotics do not help), weight lifting, biking, etc. I don’t get any extra energy. I don’t “feel better.” I don’t get whatever chemical rush it is that most people seem to get. All I get when I work out is tired. That tiredness lasts through the end of the night and into the next day sometimes. No, I’m not “overdoing it.” If it’s enough exercise to feel any sort of “burn,” it’s already too late - I’m going to be wasted. Effort == Tired.

I’m not patient. I fully admit that. I’d like to actually see some sort of results within a week or two. On no occasion, with any type of exercise, have I ever actually “seen results.” I’ve been at this weight training for like eight weeks now. Can I feel the weights getting easier? Sure. I can sort of feel that I’m a little stronger. Is there any visible result? No. Do I “feel better?” No. The effort for result ratio is feeling a little off, here. I’m doing my best to eat well - more veggies, less fat, less sugar - but I’ve got nothing to show for it. Seeing nothing is generally demoralizing.

Maybe it’s just bad attitude. That’s very well possible. I can’t say I haven’t tried a million things, though, and all of them seem to fail for me. I’ve done the yoga thing and it was OK for a time but I got bored with it (plus they usually throw in all this spiritual crap that I really just don’t buy into). I’ve tried the cardio kickboxing thing and got more worn out than with anything else and saw absolutely zip from it. Weights? Boring. Running? Boring (and painful - flat feet, right?) I was doing Dance Dance Revolution for a while, and even that gets boring after the umpteenth day of doing it. (When I say I’ve tried this stuff, it’s not “three days and I quit” - it’s “do it for a month or more, two-to-four times a week, and see how it goes. I’m giving it all a fair shot.)

Anyone got any ideas? I’m sick of this crap.